Stair-rod fastener



(No Model.)

B. E. CLARK. STAIR ROD FASTENER.

No. 593,641. Patented N6). 16, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD EVERETT CLARK, OF MIL ON, PENNSYLVANIA.

- :STAIQR-RO'D FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,641, dated November 16, 1897.

Application filed April 21,1897. Serial No. 633,169- (No model.) I I To allwhom it may concern.- 7 Be it known that I, EDWARD EVERETT CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milton, in the county of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in; Stair-Rod Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a simpleand effective stair-rod fastening by means of which the stair-rod can be quickly attached and detached without removing any screws ornails or loosening .the brackets which are permanently connected with the stairs.

In carrying out my invention I use, preferably, for one end of the stair-roda bracket having a cavity or socket into which the end of the stair-rod fits, and at the other end I use a bracket having a pin which is engaged by an opening of peculiar construction in a plate upon the end of the rod, the rod and bracket being locked together by a sliding movement of the former.

For a fuller description of the invention reference is had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a stair-- rod embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 00 as, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line :10 00, Fig. 1. Fig. lisa section on the line 1 3 Fig. 1. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are sections similar to Fig. 2, showing modifications. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the locking-plate shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a similar View of the plate shown in Fig. 5, and Figs. 10 and 11 are similar views of modifications.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a step, and B a riser.

0 indicates a stair-rod, and E F brackets, which are permanently connected to the Woodwork. The bracket E, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, cohsists of an inclined plate 6, having perforated lugs e, which are attached to the woodwork, and a triangular portion 6 which fits into the angle, forming a closed end and a suitable finish for the bracket. The bracket therefore is hollow, having a cavity 6 within. The above bracket is designed to be used for triangular stair-rods, and it may be modified to adapt it to the shape of rods of other crosssection. Bracket F, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is'shaped exactly like the bracket E, and it is provided with a headed pin f, projecting outward from the inclined portion.

Upon the end of the stair-rod is a plate H, whichmay be connected to the rod in any suitable manner. As shown in Fig. 4, its edges are folded in and clamped upon the under side of the rod. In the outer end of the plate H is an opening h, enlarged at the ends and narrow in the middle, something in the shape of a keyhole. At the inner end of the opening the metal is depressed or concaved, as indicated at h in Figs. 1 and 2. A thin spring-plate I (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 2) is sometimes used to cover the hole h and to lock the pin in place.

The operation of the devices above .described is as follows: The brackets E F are permanently fastened to the stairway by screws or nails in any suitable manner. To put the rod in place after the carpet is laid, one end should be inserted in the cavity of bracket E until the outer end of the hole his opposite the head of the pin f. The rod is then pressed down until the pin f comes through the opening, after which the rod is moved endwise until the head of the pin springs into the inner end of the opening and rests in the cavity h. The depression h causes the walls 71 of the narrow portion of the hole to be inclined, as shown in Fig. 2,

and the upper part of this narrow portion is on a level with the head of the pin. The plate H must therefore yield more or less in order to let the pin pass to the outer or larger end of the opening, and the pin and opening therefore form a spring catch or lock to hold the rod from being disclosed. The plate I, which may be omitted, if desired, more effectually maintains the rod in its locked position, as it tends to prevent the head of the pin from rising over the shoulders 71?.

Fig. 8 shows a plan View of the plate H. Fig. 9 is a similar view of a plate in which the same effect is produced by raising the wall at the outer end of the opening h, as

shown at h thus producing shoulders 77/ Figs. 10 and 11 are similar to Figs. 8 and 9, respectively, excepting that the opening is carried out to the end of the plate. In Fig.

there is a depression on at the inner end of the opening m, and in Fig. 11 there is an elevation or a convex portion m at the outer end of the opening m. In both cases there are inclined shoulders m which prevent the pin from being withdrawn accidentally.

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 2, but showing the plate of Fig. 9.

Fig. 6 is a modification in which the pinf is on the side of the bracket F, and the rodplate N has a right-angle extension at, in which an opening similar to one of the openings m or 7b is made. This form of the invention may also be supplied with a springplate, such as 413, for holding the head of the pin in the depression in the plate. Fig. 7 is similar to Fig. 6, excepting that the pin is on a plate I, which is attached at the end of the step to the part A. This form of the inven tion is suitable for box-stairs. The plate I on the rod is similar to that shown in Fig. 6, with the exception that the spring is omitted. In applying the fastenings shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the end of the rod is first placed in a bracket E, and then the rod is moved to the right until the pin passes into the opening in the plate N, after which the rod is pressed down and the pin snaps into the cavity of the plate N and the rod remains locked until it is forcibly removed.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a stair-rod fastening, the combination of a pair of brackets adapted to be permanently secured to the stairs, one of said brackets having a projecting pin, of a rod having one end adapted to enter one of the brackets and having a plate on the opposite end provided with an elongated opening for engagement with the pin, the walls of said opening being higher at one end than at the other, whereby raised shoulders are formed at the sides of the opening to engage the head of the pin, substantially as described.

2. A stair-rod fastening consisting of brackets adapted to be permanently secured to I the stairs, one of said brackets having a pin, in combination with a rod, a plate permanentl y connected with one end of the rod and provided with an opening for engagement with the pin, and a spring connected with said plate and arranged to cover the opening therein, substantially as described.

3. The fastening devices for stair-rods consisting of a plate or bracket having a headed pin projecting therefrom, a second plate having an elongated opening, the walls of the 

